The speed and density of electronic functions which can be achieved within conventional semiconductor integrated circuits and within systems which they comprise are severely limited by the interconnection technology available. On the IC itself the physical electrical properties (resistance, capacitance and inductance) of the connections themselves add complexity and limit speed. On a different scale, multichip modules have the same problems with interconnectivity. The replacement of electrical conductors with light coupled communication means has been a continued pursuit of research.
The availability of practical all-silicon-based optoelectronic integrated circuit technology would very significantly impact a wide range of military and commercial applications. Silicon-based optoelectronic integrated circuit's would not only circumvent the resistivity, capacitance and inductance problems by replacing electron paths with photons paths, they would also provide new circuit functionality, such as circuit level image processing and target recognition. Computer architectures which could benefit from broadcast communication to implement parallel processing would also be affected. In addition, silicon-based optoelectronic integrated circuit's may also provide cost inroads to commercial markets such as high-volume silicon processes and enjoy economies of scale unparalleled by other electronic or optoelectronic material technologies.